Overheard at Breakfast (File Under Non Sequitur)

Having coffee before class yesterday, I was doing some reading (last minute last minute!) and some chatty folks sat down at a neighboring table and had a lively conversation. Two highlights to share, then back to finishing my 1040A:

Regarding Radiohead’s latest, In Rainbows: “Radiohead’s new album is so good, other bands should just apologize…. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t at least like Radiohead.”
Turns out this was a paraphrase of another website’s critique/courtesy reacharound of this landmark release.
What is the deal with the ads for the on-sale date for the Radiohead appearance this summer? No show date, just “on sale Saturday 10am”. It just comes across as a little arrogant: “You know you want to come to the show no matter where or when.” Yeah, I am an adoring fan, but that’s a bit much.

“Dude, I heard Linda’s is closing!”
While not a music venue itself, it is a great pre- and post-show watering hole. I called a friend who is a manager for Linda, and have no fear, the official word is that Linda’s is here to stay.

Popularity: 24%

An Idea for Radio Stations?

Ever hear a song on the radio that you want to know more about? While KEXP and KCRW et al have real-time playlists, my old-timey car doesn’t have the internets available on the dashboard like some of those high-falutin’ new automobiles out there. So I was thinking that some genius out there - more of a genius than me - should come up with a way to send a text message to a radio station, and a reply would include the little snippet of information just like the online playlist would provide.
For those that don’t mess around with SMS, Google has such a service for things as varied as airline flight info, translation services, 411, travel directions and a whole lot more. I find some of those services really useful, and would get something out of it if this could be integrated with radio.
Any takers on this little trivial daydream?

Popularity: 23%

Sasquatch Devoured by Canadian Cousin

Hot off of the internets:

Coldplay, Jay-Z, NIN Headline First Pemberton Festival

Billboard.com is reporting that Coldplay, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jay-Z and Nine Inch Nails will headline the first-ever Pemberton Festival, set for July 25-27 in Pemberton, B.C. (Brace yourself: the three-day ticket is $240CDN and they go on sale Friday, 28 March. - ed.)

The festival is produced by Live Nation and Good Boy Productions. Live Nation Canada CEO Shane Bourbonnais will spearhead LN’s efforts on the event. Good Boy Productions is a joint venture between Coldplay manager Dave Holmes and Depeche Mode manager Jonathan Kessler.

Also on the bill are My Morning Jacket, the Tragically Hip, Interpol, Flaming Lips and Death Cab For Cutie, along with newer acts like Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Sia. The plan is to feature two stages, a dance stage and more than 50 bands.

Pemberton, a two hour drive from Vancouver, is a popular destination area due to its close proximity to Whistler ski resort, site for some competitions for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The event will boast a festival village, camping facilities, an RV Park and shuttle service to and from nearby Whistler, tickets for the Pemberton Festival go on sale through PembertonFestival.com beginning Friday, March 28.

Concert-goers will be able to camp on site or sleep in accommodations ranging from motels to top notch luxury hotels in Whistler.

The confirmed line up as of today (March 13) is:

Coldplay
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Nine Inch Nails
Jay-Z
Flaming Lips
Interpol
Death Cab For Cutie
The Tragically Hip
Serj Tankian
My Morning Jacket
Metric
Sam Roberts Band
Vampire Weekend
Black Mountain
Minus The Bear
Wintersleep
Buck 65
Secret Machines
MGMT
Brazillian Girls
SIA
Fiery Furnaces
Mates of State
The Airborne Toxic Event
Carolina Liar
Grand Ole Party
Monte Negro
Low Vs Diamond
Annie Stela
The Crystal Method
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist
Junkie XL
David Seaman
Booka Shade
MSTRKRFT
M.A.N.D.Y.
Tommie Sunshine
Chromeo
Deadmau5
3 OH! 3
Kevin Shiu
Timeline
Tony Pantages

I have been to Pemberton, and the idea of this kind of event in a small town with one road in and one road out makes me wince. I imagine a traffic cluster**** on the scale of White River Amphitheater. So I think I will be bringing my bike to get to and from the venue.

Popularity: 23%

My KEXP donation

I done squeaked in my KEXP pledge this morning. I like a lot of other stations, but something just tugged at the corner of my soul. Kinda like those Greenpeace kids in front of Whole Foods… but John and Cheryl were more effective. I didn’t give enough for Riz to come over cook me dinner or for Stevie Zoom to give me a personal tour of the studio, but hey, it’s something. 

Popularity: 25%

The New, Revolutionary Amazon MP3 Store

This Is Big

DRM-free tracks! 256kbps! 89¢ per song!

Stand aside, iTunes Store, there’s some new crack on the street I need to spend my money on. Amazon MP3 Download Store.

This is big news, folks. This (no DRM) is what what Steve Jobs has done on a small scale at the iTunes Store with one label, but a bit bigger (two labels), and better quality files.

Apple is good, but competition is better.

But there’s a bit of a downside… you need to get the Amazon MP3 downloader. Not a terrible hassle, but why can’t we just download the music after we buy it? Why a downloader?

The Mac downloader, “Amazon MP3 Downloader”, clocks in at 1.1MB and is a Universal binary, meaning it will work on G3, G4, G5 and newer Intel-powered Macs. You get the downloader when you buy your first track or album.

The buy/download process was less than streamlined, and in my haste I bought The Reminder twice. I have a support ticket in currently asking for a refund for one copy, which comes to $9.79 with Washington State tax. I expect this to improve, and I note that the service is still in beta.

Background + News

Read about why I parted ways with the iTunes store back in Fall, 2005, on my Mac blog, AppleSwitcher.com.

Salon’s take on Amazon’s MP3 store. Ars Technica’s take.

The Reminder review coming soon.

Have you used it? Do you plan to? Let’s hear your feedback.

Popularity: 34%